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пятница, 29 апреля 2011 г.

107. People of England: Prince William and Catherine Middleton

The wedding between Prince William and Catherine Middleton seems to have magnetized people from all over the world. Millions of people have been "glued" to their TV screens to watch the beautiful royal wedding.

Prince William was born on June 21, 1982, the elder son of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. He received his education in four schools of the UK and completed his degree at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Following his mother's example William was involved into a variety of charities, raising awareness of AIDS/HIV, working with inner-city disadvantaged groups, granting patronage to a charity that assists the homeless people. He also made his contribution by working with the less-fortunate children in Africa and raising funds for a number of social and environmental causes in the country and overseas. William has participated in fund-raising events playing polo and football, and both he and his brother share a passion for riding motorbikes and following foxhounds on their hunts.

William met Catherine Middleton at the University of St. Andrews and they started dating in 2003. Even though their relationship was in peril at some point they were able to overcome their problems. In 2010 an announcement was made regarding their engagement. Prince William and Kate Middleton were married on April 29, 2011 at Westminster Abbey. The Archbishop of Canterbury officiated their ceremony. Listen to his talk on the meaning and mystery of marriage and complete the assignments below.

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Assignment 1: Listen to the first 2:16 minutes of the program and fill out the gaps in the Archbishop's talk about marriage:

Since about 1300 the Archbishops of Canterbury have had their London 1)________ here in Lambeth Palace. The 2)______ from the Lambeth Palace is straight across the houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and, of course, Westminster Abbey. And at the moment Westminster Abbey is very much on everybody’s 3)______ as we look forward to the Royal Wedding.

Every marriage is a really big commitment to the people 4)________. It’s a lifetime commitment. It’s a commitment that says, “Actually I’m prepared not only to 5)________ the rest of my life with you, but to spend the rest of my life 6)________ _____ about you; there’s always going to be more of you to discover. And if that’s what people are saying to each other in a wedding that says something very deeply 7)__________ about what human beings are like. There’s a 8)_________, a delight at the heart of the human beings, and it’s possible to spend a lifetime and more 9)_________ just that.

A marriage is, of course, is 10)_______ and foremost about two individuals, but no individual exists alone. People come to their weddings with families and friends around them, and of course in this 11)__________ wedding they’re coming with friends and 12)__________ from all around the world, watching and witnessing. Every wedding then sends a 13)_______ to people. It’s two people declaring something, not only about themselves, but about what they most deeply believe, the 14)_________ they most deeply hold to, declaring that to the whole world around.

A marriage is good news because it says something so deep about our 15)__________, and it tells us that we can have 16)___________ for hope, that there are still people around who want to spend the rest of their lives with each other, who want to make this act of 17)___________ commitment to one another. And so everybody around the world watching this will have some sense of the commitments that are possible.

People who are witnessing the wedding are 18)__________, I think, to ask themselves, “Well, if William and Catherine can make that sort of commitment, if these people can share that sort of 19)_____________, perhaps I’m more capable of more generosity, more commitment, more faithfulness, more 20)______________ than I ever thought, perhaps there’s more to me than I ever realized.”

Assignment 3: Listen to the second part of the talk and fill out the gaps.

William and Catherine are making this 1)_________ very much in the public eye, and they’re 2)___________, realistic young people, they know what cost of that might be. They’ve thought that 3)________. And because of that they will need the support, the solidarity, and the prayers of all those who are watching today. We have to be witnesses in an active sense, the kind of witnesses who really 4)_______ what’s going on, to be a witness is more than to be a 5)________, and I hope that’ll be a part of people’s experience at the time of the wedding.

It’s been real pleasure to get to know the couple. I’ve been very struck by the way in which William and Catherine have 6)_________ this great event. They’ve thought through what they want for themselves, but also what they want to say. They’ve had a very simple, very 7)_________ picture of what really matters about this event. I think that they have a clear sense of what they are responsible to, responsible to the whole society, responsible to God for their relationship. And I think it’s impressive that they’ve had that 8)_________ about it, they’ve known what matters, what’s at the 9)________ of all this, they’ve worked towards that because I think they are deeply unpretentious people, and that message about taking that responsibility, sensibly, realistically, 10)____________, that comes over very strongly in the conversation with them.

Any priest or minister conducting the wedding is bound to have a huge sense of 11)________. You’re invited into some intimate places in people’s lives, you’re invited to take part in a very, very significant moment, a moment of hope, a moment of 12)__________ about people’s present and future. And I felt very privileged to be a part of this event for those reasons. Here are young people sending a message of hopefulness, sending a message of 13)_________ across the world, and it’s my privilege to be able to bless that in the name of God, to witness it in the name of God, and to send them on their way.

Naturally, I want to wish William and Catherine every richest 14)________ in their life together, but I want to wish them especially the courage and 15)__________ they’ll need to live out this big commitment in the full 16)________, to live it out for the rest of us. I hope they’ll be given the strength and the 17)_____________ to go on showing the rest of us what’s possible for the whole of their life together.